Jessica Carlisle is the main character of the novel The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen, she is a below knee amputee and is a competitive runner. On the way back from a track meet, Jessica and her teammates get into a serious car accident. Jessica loses her leg and another runner Lucy, loses her life. Jessica’s best friend Fiona, convinces her to go back to school with the help of her sister Kylee, her mom and her dad. she is excited to be back at school and see her coach Kyro and the other runners and her crush Gavin. When Jessica goes to math class she starts talking to a girl named Rosa who has cylisbrly palsy. Rosa tells Jessica that she wants to cross the finish line one day, so when Jessica gets her prosthetic running leg she decides she is going to run with Rosa. Gavin, her new boyfriend and the rest of her friends and family support her throughout the novel especially when she decides she is going to run with …show more content…
She thinks that losing her leg is the end of her life and she won’t every be a normal teenager. Jessica’s friends help her become motivated to go to school and be lively. Some time later, Jessica sees a video of a runner running with a prosthetic leg. She becomes more and more motivated to get a running leg the more people help her. Her track team has many fundraiser, Gavin writes a story for the newspaper and their local news station comes to interview Jessica. After an anonymous donor pledges to double the amount of money that they make, Jessica realizes that her running dream could be a reality. After she gets her running leg, she decides to help Rosa cross the finish line. She needs to be determined if she wants to push a wheelchair for 10 miles. This makes Jessica realize that people care and that she must be determined if she wants to run again. Jessica is motivated to have stronger relationships with her friends and family just like she is with